The following events all happened during this week in Mississippi history.

Year: 1884: Historian J.
F. H. Claiborne, the father of Mississippi history
died, less than two months after a fire at his home in Natchez, Mississippi,
destroyed the manuscript of what would have been volume two of his history
of Mississippi. (May 17)

In this collection, Pulitzer prize-winning
author Richard Ford brings together 11 of the finest examples of American
long stories or novellas. Selecting at least one story from each decade
since the 1940s, this anthology includes “June Recital” by
Eudora Welty; “The
Long March” by William Styron; “Goodbye, Columbus” by
Philip Roth; “A Long Day in November” by Ernest J. Gaines;
“The Old Forest” by Peter Taylor; “The Age of Grief”
by Jane Smiley; “I Lock My Door Upon Myself” by Joyce Carol
Oates; and “Hey, Have You Got a Cig, the Time, the News, My Face?”
by Barry Hannah.

AUTHOR EVENTS: Book Signings, Readings, and Appearances

June 19-22:Ford Center for the Performing Arts, The
University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi

“Oxford Film Festival.” Oxfords
first community-sponsored film festival consists of 4 days of screenings,
along with workshops on film-making, screen-writing, etc., for adults
and children, juried professional independent and amateur films, presentations
and awards. Ticket prices & details TBA. 10 a.m.-midnight daily. For
more information, visit the festival web site, www.oxfordfilmfest.com.

June 26-29:The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi

The “Yoknapatawpha Summer Writers
Workshop” is designed to give poets and fiction writers experience
in the art of writing. The workshop features writing practice and critiques,
as well as readings and craft presentations. By the end of the four days,
participants should emerge with improved writing skills, as well as a
greater appreciation for the process from thought to printed page. Open
to anyone interested in writing. Pre-registration is required. Tuition
for the workshop is $395 per person and includes workshops, lectures,
panel discussions, readings, and one evening reception. The registration
deadline is Friday, June 6, 2003. For more information, visit the workshop
web site, www.outreach.olemiss.edu/summer/yokna_writers/.

If you know of upcoming literary events by or about Mississippi
writers, please let us know by writing us at mwp@olemiss.edu.

ON THE HORIZON

The following events are planned for the coming weeks and months. You
may wish to begin planning now to attend or participate.

Elmore Leonard, author of more than
30 novels (including Bandits, Get Shorty, and Tishomingo Blues),
numerous film and television productions, essays and commentaries, will
read and talk about his career. For more information on Leonard, visit
www.elmoreleonard.com/.
Elmore Leonards new book, When the Women Come Out to Dance,
is to be published in November 2003. Johnson Commons Ballroom, The University
of Mississippi, 7 p.m. Sponsored by the John and Renee Grisham Visiting
Writers Series and the Department of English at the University of Mississippi.

If you know of additional news items for this newsletter or if you
have suggestions, please write us at mwp@olemiss.edu.

For more information about events in the Oxford and University of Mississippi
community, see the Ole Miss Community Calendar: www.olemiss.edu/calendar/